Food photography

Diddy2theJJ · Dec 9, 2008

Hello, I am looking for a little critique as well as some discussion on lighting for food photography. What I have been doing is using a set of Lowel EGO lights and so far been working fairly well. I have been wondering though if strobes would be a good thing for food or if I should stick with what I've been using.

I don't really like to use a tripod all that much so I've been shooting handheld. The reason in this case is I have quite alot of different foods/drinks to photograph on my shoots and a limited amount of time to accomplish this.

Since I am shooting handheld there is a slight bit of grain in the photos since I have to bump up the ISO to at least 400, and sometimes all the way up to 1600. I am shooting on a Digital Rebel XT.

I'm thinking about the old adage if it isn't broke don't fix it, but if I could improve in any way that would be great. I look forward to your thoughts!

Here's some of my most recent photos:

Thanks,
D

Big Mike · Dec 9, 2008

Looks pretty good.

Normally I would say that I'd like to see a little more DOF, but every food shot I've seen in magazines or books...has a very shallow DOF....I guess that's the style.

Normally, I would think that strobes would be best for food. Constant lights might get hot and melt the food. I've heard that pro food shooters will use a lot of substitute ingredients that don't melt so fast.

A tripod shouldn't really slow you down that much...and it gives the option to use a smaller aperture for more DOF and to keep the ISO low. If you have different food/things to shoot, you could probably leave the camera & lights in position and just change the food. Adjusting the tripod should still only take a few seconds...well worth the benefits.

JerryPH · Dec 9, 2008

PS, Beyond the basics is not really the right place for CC. In the future please consider using the proper part of the forum.

That aside, 99% of pro shooters will use flash for the very reason Mike outlined.

Tripods, and deep DOF are key for thsese shots. Believe it or not, bland straight on lighting works best as does the traditional 2 strobes at 45 degrees.

Craddie · Dec 10, 2008

Soft window light is good for food as well if it's at all possible (often it's not).

As for CC, I find the shots OK, but for the most part they're too busy for my liking. Lots of colours, textures, different distances etc.

#1 - I find it's just too close-up. It's like when someone says "hey, read THIS!" and holds a piece of paper right up to your face.

#2 - Looks like you have 4 subjects that collaborate into 1 theme (looks like a meal-deal), but only 1 is in focus.

#3 - Needs a woman's touch. The purple cloth with brown drink and red strawberries. Reminds me of the 1st time my mom let me dress myself....lol.

Sorry to sound harsh, but you asked...

Diddy2theJJ · Dec 10, 2008

It's not too harsh at all. I'm interested in all different points of view. These are going into menus that the client is having designed.

I'm interested in other opinions as well as tips on how to make them better in the future. Jerry, sorry if this is the wrong forum for CC i just wanted to show an example of my lighting now and ask how it could be better. So in my head it was more of a post on lighting than CC, but I'll make sure to get it in the correct forum next time.